New offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo makes impact on Giants draft
By Jordan Raanan/NJ.com
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on May 10, 2014 http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2014/05/new_offensive_coordinator_ben_mcadoo_makes_impact_on_giants_draft.html
EAST RUTHERFORD -- With a new offense comes new players with slightly different skillsets. For the
Giants, this is called the Ben McAdoo effect. It was felt in the first NFL Draft since he was named the team's offensive coordinator.
McAdoo's presence is already being felt before the NFL Draft even ends. When the Giants selected center Weston Richburg with the 43rd-overall pick in the second round, McAdoo's imprint was on the pick.
Richburg is an athletic center out of Colorado State. He's a stark contrast from what the Giants' previous center, the bigger and less athletic David Baas, brought to the table.
"[Richburg] is a really good, athletic center. He's one of those guys, one of those bonus guys. Not a lot of centers can pull," general manager Jerry Reese said. "This guy can snap the ball and pull and get out on the perimeter. He was terrific."
The Giants players have said that they expect the new offense to be more like what McAdoo was used to in Green Bay. The Packers offense is heavy on screens, draws and pulling linemen. That includes the center. It also puts more responsibility on his shoulders.
The center will be asked to share much more of the line calls than before, when Keivn Gilbride's offense put much of the responsibility on the quarterback, Eli Manning.
"I just know that the new coordinator likes the center to be very involved with some of the protection scheme things and [Richburg] is really smart," Reese said. "He was outstanding when we interviewed him at the combine so he fits the mold of what we want, besides being a very good football player."
Vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross admitted this all factored into the final decision to select Richburg, who scored an impressive 31 on
the Wonderic test. His intellect and athleticism, on top of being a quality football player, made him an ideal fit for McAdoo's offense.
"The center position here for us is one of responsibility in terms of dictating to the rest of the offensive line exactly how the scheme is going to go," coach Tom Coughlin said. "This guy will fit right in in terms of that."
It's clear that change is in the air. The Giants rarely, if ever, pulled their center on running plays under Gilbride. They will now. Richburg's athleticism will be put on display.
"Well, it gives you more versatility," Coughlin said. "Even more, there would be no restrictions in terms of what you would ask [the center] to do. If you were going to pull or there was an opportunity based on the front you're playing against, where the guard is not in the position to pull, then the center would or could pull. It has been done and you can count on [Richburg] to do that. He would be able to get out in front and make a block, etc."
The Giants' personnel department knows what is coming. They had this in the back of their minds while scouting players this year. It's not a sheer coincidence the player they drafted just so happens to have these capabilities.
"We pull quite a bit [at Colorado State]," Richburg said. "Since I was able to do that, our coaches felt more comfortable using me in that type of way. It's something I really enjoyed as well and I think I was athletic enough to get out, quick enough, and get out and set up some good blocks for our running backs on the outside."
It's just one of the reasons he was drafted by the Giants. Consider it the Ben McAdoo effect.
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I was just thinking back to what Tiki Barber was saying about the offensive line and their blocking style not being a good fit for a player like himself or Wilson.
Richburg seems like a move that should help the outside blocking schemes. So that could be good for Wilson if he is fully recovered.
Andre Williams is looks pretty similar to Brown/Ward/Jennings.
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New Giants RB Andre Williams knows his strength as power runner
By Conor Orr/The Star-Ledger
on May 10, 2014 http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2014/05/new_giants_rb_andre_williams_knows_his_strength_as_power_runner.html
EAST RUTHERFORD --Andre Williams carried the ball 355 times last season en route to a 2,177-yard campaign that placed him fourth in the Heisman Trophy race.
He averaged more than six yards per carry, scored 18 touchdowns and played in all 13 games; only four games didn't result in a 100-yard game.
On the flip side, he didn't catch a single pass. He only caught 10 total in his four years at Boston College.
"I did do a lot of pass protection last year and in year's past," Williams said. "I've been through about five different offensive coordinators, different offenses. I was called upon to do different things. This year I was called upon to run the ball, and we had a lot of success with that.
"I think I am solid in pass protection."
Williams, chosen by the Giants in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday, said it wasn't part of the conversation he had with the Giants at the combine. They didn't get into specifics about how they want to use him or what they expect him to do this year.
But Williams knows he'll have to work on his hands, and has been doing so with more consistency each of the last two offseasons.
"Catching the ball has not been my strong point," Williams said. "I wasn't called upon a lot to do it in high school or college because I was such a great runner. It is something that I've continued to work on throughout the years and especially in the last offseason. It's something I'm continuing to get better at."
The Giants, though, may not need Williams to do much in the screen game. A look at his
bruising highlight tape from 2013 shows more of a Shonn Greene-type runner than anything. His thickness should help the Giants in short yardage and his blocking ability will be crucial on first and second down, especially after the offense struggled to find a capable blocking back for most of last season.
He says he's built to take hits and carry the ball, and doesn't worry about a high volume of carries coming his way.
"My body is built for it," he said. "I'm 230 pounds. It doesn't really phase me to take that many carries. It was a lot of fun this year."
